SelgasCano's "psychedelic chrysalis" Serpentine Pavilion is now open

Monday, June 22 – SelgasCano's design for the 2015 Serpentine Pavilion became a reality today, as the much-anticipated structure was officially unveiled. The pavilion, a series of colorful, interconnected and multi-layered corridors with a café and sitting area inside, has multiple openings for visitors to waft through at their own whim. As pictured, the effect inside is like a creamsicle stained-glass dreamscape, with varying textures to distinguishing the barrier between inside and out.

Compared to initial renderings of the pavilion, the design delivers on its scheme to emulate a vibrant atmosphere of color and light. Also maintained is a distinct playfulness, captured in the renderings by cartoonish figures occupying the space, and evident in the real design through the striking iridescent colors circulating inside. These aesthetics are a remarkable break from the Serpentine's last apparent trend, compared to preceding pavilions by Smiljan Radic (2014), Sou Fujimoto (2013), Herzog & de Meuron Ai WeiWei (2012) and Peter Zumthor (2011), who eschewed color and horizontality for more upward-reaching, monochromatic and monolithic designs. Serpentine Galleries Director, Julia Peyton-Jones and Co-Director Hans Ulrich Obrist likened SelgasCano's pavilion to a "chrysalis-like structure, as organic as the surrounding gardens", and The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright tacked on a "psychedelic" descriptor, which drastically distinguishes it from prior designs in the Pavilion's 15 year history.

In line with the Serpentine Gallery's standard program for the pavilion, SelgasCano's pavilion is their first built work in the UK, and serves as a temporary social space for visitors to the galleries, located in Kensington Gardens, London. The annual summer Pavilion has become "one of the top-ten most visited architectural and design exhibitions in the world".